Not being a mental health professional (nor do I play one on TV) I did not have a clue of the diagnosis of the patients in the unit. When I first arrived, I was told that many of them suffered from dementia and Alzheimer's. But that was just the tip of the ice burg, there were other issues here. I did not know enough about mental health to even start guessing - multiple personalities, depression, and/or psychotic personality disorder. Other layman's terms that are not PC acceptable come to mind - snakes in the head, bat shit crazy, and certified loony, to name a few.
I was not sure if the addition of my name to the rolls here should give me reason to feel more sane and normal than ever. Or should I question my sanity and normal mental ability to keep up with the human race.
One morning while I watching the news, an older very articulate gentleman sitting next to me was commenting on the state of the world. I was very careful to listen to his views and not blurt out some incendiary comment. It was clear what side of the political spectrum he was coming from. We exchanged comments about the rise of China, the insanity of North Korea's leader, Brexit, etc.
All was going swimmingly until he looked at me and opined about the golden years of America - days of our military might, when we ruled the world, and other leaders of the world knew the value of our institutions such as the CIA. Then he started talking about the Tri-Lateral Commission and the cold war.
As soon as I could do so, I politely "remembered" that I had left a book in my room and I excused myself. OK, I could add delirium and living in the unreality zone to the list.
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